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The Innistrados Cycle
Welcome to Innistrad, a land of evil and primal urges barely held by the machinations and blessings of the Cathars. A land cursed with werewolves, zombies, vampires and worse - demons. Humans society and life is dominated by the church of Avacyn, named after the Archangel who balanced the powers of evil and good. It has been many years since Avacyns disappearance however and a power vacuum has formed, allowing the demons and the Skirsdag cultists to begin bloody rituals, the Ghoulcallers and their ghouls now rampage over the lands, those who would call themselves Skaberen now forge grotesque monsters from the flesh of the hallowed deceased, those Markov has kept begin to reign terror amongst men. But now that two peculiar individuals have entered the lanes - Garruk and Lilliana, chaos has run free with only the most hardy of men holding their sanity. General Background The plane of Innistrad is one of many in the multiverse which appears to be similar to Earth during the 18th-19th century. Humans are barely surviving the struggle against geists, werewolves, vampires, zombies and other classical horrors. The plane has several regions: Gavony, Kessig, Nephalia and Stensia. Gavony is the main territory held by the humans, with the largest city - Thraben within its borders. Kessig is a large, dense forest within Innistrads interior with various agricultural settlements, even newcomers to the province do not venture at night for the area is littered in packs of Werewolves who tear you limb from limb. Nephalia is on the coast of Innistrad, attracting multitudes of occupations, from Merchant to Skaberen. Its harsh mists, hide those who do not wish to be found, which benefits the population of vampirse and humans. Stensia is the darkest of all provinces, always shrouded in darkness. Its features range from simple pastures to extensive swamps to incredibly impossible cliffs that wind with light roads. Its population is left in fear due to the immense population of Vampire Nobles who feed upon the cattle in the villages. Magic in Innistrad is very minimal, with most of it either demonic, holy or conjuration. Those who wish to garner the favour and power of the Demons may join the Skirsdag, universally hated cultists who wish nothing more then to serve their Dark Lords. The holy Cathars of Thraben seek to defend the people and arm themselves with stakes, holy symbols and silver blades. Those who wish to combat the threat directly may become powerful warrior-clerics known as Inquisitors. The mad who wish to create armies of monsters may learn the ways of the Ghoulcaller or Skaberen, though the two hate the opposites methods and are constantly at lethal odds. A small group of werewolves known as the Wildspeakers follow the lone planeswalker, Garruk on his quest to rid of his Curse of the Chain Veil. Famous Locations Thraben The High city of Thraben, within the parish of the same name, borders the northern edge of the province of Gavony. It sits upon a large mesa enircled by the Lake of Herons, a long body of water that flows around the rock and over an incredible waterfall. The eastern tip of the rock juts out over the waterfall iteself, and it is on this dramatic pinnacle that the Cathedral of Avacyn sits. Thraben is the most defended city in all of Innistrad, although parts of Nephalia are more densely populated. Its the seat of the Church of Avacyn, built as a city of walls and various bulwards designed to keep supernatural threats at bay. While small settlements are constantly under siege by monsters, the inner parts of Thraben and the Cathedral are the safest in Innistrad, which causes some of the Cathars to be disillusioned to how dangerous Innistrad truly is. The Helvault The Helvault is a silver mass that occupies a precipice in the Cathedral of Avacyn's courtyard. It holds many demons and Avacyn herself. Its surface is rough and unrefined, with thin veins of dark mortar that branch around its surface. The Tree of Redemption Behind leafy barriers and the sturdy walls coated in vines and foliage lies a secret tree: The mysterious Tree of Redemption. The tree, located in the Thraben Cathedral holds the power to absolve the souls of the hanged. Moorland Moorland, beyond the Nearheath, is a vast parish of Gavony with relatively few human inhabitants. This has always been a more desloate region, filled with stores of spectral wolves and wandering spirits. There are few trees in the Moorland and the ground is covered in coarse grass, bracken and violet heather. There are boulders and standing rocks and the the countryside seems to be covered in perpetual mist. Some storied and pictueresque manors still exist here, abandoned by their former owners. The area is rife with geists, many of them dangerous with travelers at constant risk from them as well as other things that wander the countryside. The Moorland is also the original stomping ground of Grimgrin, a horrifice skaab monstrosity created and set loose by necro-alchemist Geralf. Some might prefer to face the werewolves of Kessig then find them selves in the way of Grimgrin. Ulvenwald Howl-haunted woods of aspen, birch and maple that border the edges of the Province of Kessig. It is filled to the brim with the supernatural, with its sinuous trunks and hanging mist. The forest is a natural barrier to other provinces as travelers through the woods are subject to attacks by werewolves, hauntings of primordial spirits and strange disappearances in the mist. Lambholt The farming village of Lambholt is settled in the middle of miles of sheep, goat and cattle pastures. The pastures near the town were once mingled with woods that once joined the Ulvenwald, but the Kessigers here chopped down all but a few trees to clear room for their farms. Its thought that wild essences resent the destruction of their forests, for werewolves continually terrorize the livestock and humans of Lambholt Hollowhenge A ruin of wooda nd brick now stands where Kessig's county seat stood. Only a year ago it was a thriving small town of manor houses called Avabruck, and you can still find wooden signs among the splintered wood and broken gates that say "Avabruck" in cheery paint. One year ago, after the protective power of Avacynian magic began to wane, the wards around Avabruck's central cathedral, the Temple of saint Raban, failed. It took only two nights for the werewolves to discover this breach in protection. Somberwald Despite its darkness, Stensia still holds places of beauty. Between its contested valleys and savage peaks, the Geier is forested with a winding melancholy, drooping pine wilderness. These woods are home to some of Innistrads most noble and pristine creatures: bears, stags and others things have fled here over the centures for safety and seclusion. Many of these creatures were once found in Kessig, but the spread of hunters, trappers and werewolves there have driven them here, where they're safe in the shadow of the vampires. Ashmouth The demonic gateway known as Ashmouth lies in between the Hofsaddel and Needle's Eye passes in the Geier Reach, the mountain that dominates the province of Stensia. It is a huge chasm deep enough to glow with magma from below. Ash-ridden smog rises from it, mixing with the dark clouds above. Ashmouth is an infernal gateway, and perhaps the most important one. The demon Shilgengar emerged frmo this pit, which also spews out bands of devils according to some eldritch pattern only the demons understand Hofsaddel and Needle's Eye These two passes connect the inland valleys to the outlane ones. Hofsaddel is a wide and well-trodden pass, and one that the vampires leave alone. The reason: human interaction is good for the long term, as long as it's among Stensians. Needle's Eye, however is a narrow, treacherous and deadly path because of the presence of vengeful geists on the route as well as its proximity to Ashmouth and its devils. Humans will take the Needle's Eye path only in the event of mergencies in the neighbouring valleys. The Farbogs Twin bogs, one in the inland valley and one in the outland, blanket the center of Stensia like two puddles of ink. Both were once groves of pines, but those trees now sink into the peat much at odd angles, creating a tangle of dead trunks. The peripheries of both bogs are home to ancient grafs, and as the graves dissolve in the the slime, geists proliferate. A few ghouls wander here as well, most of them products of the young, self-taught ghoulcaller Rinelda Smit, an irresponsible teenager trying to make her mark on Stensia by creating her own force of beings to defend against vampire attacks. Drunau A port town from Nephalia, is where the Stromkirk vampires under their progenitor, Runo, have established their ancestral manor and their center of commerce outside of Stensia. Drunau houses the Fauchard, warriors who formed an order of human vampire hunters and usually can be found in this port town. Some have come to Drunau especially to destroy the undead and possibly Runo himself. They are a secretive group that recognizes one another through elaborate, symbolic code, either worn, written or gestured. Runo knows of them and tolerates them to some degree, as the Fauchard destroy the vampires whom the Stromkirk consder to be the most crass and distasteful. That said, the Stromkirk vampires will relentlessly pursue and destory any Fauchard who becomes known to them. Havengul The largest of the three cities of Nephalia, Havengul, stands at the mouth of the Silburlind River. The population consists of human craftworkers, shipbuilders, smiths and traders. The Avacynian church as a strong presence here to take part in the burgeoning trade and marketplace, but many Nephalians are wary of the priesthood and watch them like hawks. As long as the church brings trade to and from Thraben, they are give a pass from the key players in Nephalia Selhoff The foggy, quiet port of Selhoff is where the Nebelgast, the spirit-mist, is most active. The mist almost perpetually covers the town and the nearby Morkrut Swamp. Because of the spirit activity here, it has repelled some humans, but it has attracted others - namely the skaberen and alchemists who experiment with geist energy. The elite of Selhoff dwell within towers and spires that set this town apart from the others of Nephalia, which is why the phrase "the spires of Selhoff" is often used when Nephalians talk of their southermost town. Here in Selhoff and all along the Nephalian coastline, spirits come and go with the tide, but that isn't to say that when the tide is out, spirits are absent (there are just far fewer). Because the tide is connected to the moon, the pull of the moon brings the spirits into the world of the living to haunt The Nebelgast consists mainly of marei (drown sailors and shipwreck victims) and the niblis (frost phantoms), but there are a host of other ghosts and spirits that are pulled by the moon. Selhoff lies on a small river delta where the river Ospid empties out into the Bay of Vustrow. This creates a sizeable marsh known as Morkrut swamp. Few set foot within the Morkrut other than ghoulcallers, and even they can become lost in its mists. The Morkrut has been a dumping place for murder victimes and unclaimed bodies for which no one will pay for proper burial. Because of this, the Morkrut is filled with banshees and other malevolent geists. Class Information Due to the differences between the Innistrad universe and the D&D standard universe, several class are changed or removed to fit the setting Barbarian Barbarians do not fit the setting in the stereotypical, barbarian way. In Innistrad the closest you will get to a barbarian is the warriors of Kessig and zealot conscripts. Bard Music within Innistrad is not lost concept, but it is not crucially important to any party. Most people outside of Gavony do not care too much for loud music as it attracts beasts from the wilds. The bards of Innistrad are the town criers and zealous soothsayers who inspire people with their voice, not a flute nor fife Cleric While the cleric in Innistrad does not have as much abilities and holy spells, it is one of the most common classes. In the Innistrad universe the Clerics serve the Church of Avacyn as Cathars, holy preists who utilise the blessings of Avacyn to create various baubles to stave off the evils of the lands. Druid The Druids are among the people within the Innistrad universe, but in very, very small numbers. They either are werewolves who follow the way of the woods or the Wildspeakers, the followers of Garruk the Relentless. Fighter Fighters are a standard in any universe, even Innistrad. They can cover many works of life, from Kessig militiamen armed with axes, mercenaries from Nephalia and even ex-inquistors. Monk The Monk's use of fists are vey unreliable within the lands, as Werewolves can easily turn them with a simple scratch. Monks do not really fit the setting, but can be modified to fit a martial priest of Avacyn Paladin Paladins or Cathar-Inquistors are holy warriors in service to Avacyn. They specialize in executing heretics and slaying the foul monstrosities that plague the land. They typically are trained as a Cathar and then focus on martial weapons with intense studying of all the beasts within the lands. Ranger Rangers are spread accross the lands, mostly guarding the small settlements of Kessig. Many succumb to the Werewolves and become one with the forest, but the few that survive long enough are amongst the toughest of foes. Many of them wander the land as a personal goal to free ghouls and geists of their presence on Innistrad Rogue Rogues fit the setting quite well, with most illicit buisness being held within Nephalias borders. Many Rogues can garner several abilties that support Ghoul callers and Skaberens. Rogues can easily be tied with vampires as they provide natural dexterity and charisma bonuses, as well as some advantages to survival. Sorcerer Those who call themselves Sorcerer are members of the Skirsdag or the lucky (or un-lucky) granted demonic energy from the various Demons. Wizards Wizards are a rare breed, few non-Avacynian Wizards exist in Innistrad with most harnessing natural elements such as lightning and fire.